John Bignell Hill

  General Notes:

John Bignell Hill migrated from London, England, after a dispute with his stepmother, and refused to return when requested by his father. He landed in Sydney where he purchased a block of land where Anthony Horden now stands. (Either bought or sold the land for 2 gallons of rum). He didn't like Sydney, so he moved to Brisbane where he lived in Adelaide Street where Brisbane City Hall Plaza is now. The water supply was from the swamp where the city now stands. He then opened a saddlery shop in George Street (between Queen and Elizabeth Sts). Later when land at Clayfield was for sale at five pound per acre he remarked "who would want to go way out there to live"! His home, as was the custom in those days was a slab hut where he raised his family. All the sons became saddlers.

  Noted events in his life were:

• Emigration: SS Fairlie, 7 Aug 1848, New South Wales, Australia.

John married Emma Catherwood Boyes, daughter of Frederick Boyes and Mary Curtis, on 1 Sep 1852 in Sydney, , New South Wales, Australia. (Emma Catherwood Boyes was born circa 1832 in Buckingham, Buckinghamshire, England and died on 11 Jul 1898 in Queensland, Australia.)